After leaving Selma, on our way to South Carolina we made a too brief stop to visit Anne’s brother south of Atlanta. We had a great time visiting some sights around Peachtree City, sharing meals and catching up.
City Hall Fountain in Peachtree City. The tubes gradually fill with water, then tip forward and spill the water.
Since we arrived at Max’s brother’s house we have been enjoying our time here catching up and clearing trees downed by Hurricane Helene.
One of many trees down at Max’s brothers house. We were actually very blessed that none of the trees fell on the house or on our motorhome that was parked there.
Spending our days cutting up trees …
… and hauling to the roadside.
The tree in the picture above pushed to the right-of-way for pickup
The four of us did take a weekend camping trip to North Carolina to see the Carolina BalloonFest in Statesville. We camped at Blake Farms RV Resort which is a small family-owned campground. There are large full hookup gravel sites, a short hiking trail, and all the miniature golf you want to play – at no charge. There is also a general store. We recommend it to anyone needing a campground in the Statesville area.
Our campsites at Blake Farms RV Resort
Free minigolf at the campground
Saturday was our day to spend at the BalloonFest. We were up early to be able to see the first balloons go up at about 7:30. There were about 25 balloons in the morning flight and there was a competition to see which pilot could drop their streamers closest to the center mark. Later in the day there was a mass ascension of balloons and later still there was an evening glow. It was a day of great fun. We particularly enjoyed the special shape balloons.
Mass ascension
Evening glow
One of our favorites
Another favorite
Three of the cutest balloons
Being photobombed at the BalloonFest
We are back in Johnston currently, still working on trees and enjoying time with family.
Last weekend was shortened due to working on Friday with the Fannie Mae employees. Saturday became our usual Friday meaning there was laundry to do and groceries to purchase and the team went to Hancock’s Barbecue for an early supper. Excellent barbecue! It was worth the schedule change to be able to work with the FM people. On Sunday, we welcomed one additional team member, Dave, for a total of nine Nomads. We began the work week much like we ended last week, working with the Fannie Mae employees. The FM folks from last week left on Saturday and a new group of about 25 arrived on Sunday. They were just as enthusiastic and fun to work with as our first group last week. At the request of our construction coordinator we again divided the team to four houses and accomplished much more work than if we had only worked in our traditional role. On Tuesday evening the NOMADS were invited to the closing dinner of the Fannie Mae SERVE360 project. The FM leaders were very appreciative and complimentary of NOMADS assistance and are interested in possibly pursuing additional joint projects in the future. The NOMADS members were also very complimentary of the working partnership, and we were sorry to see the FM members leave. It was such an amazing way to meet new people of different cultures and be able to share our life and faith stories.
This is the finished siding from last week.
… and laying out a new piece of paneling for the bathroom …
… then cutting it to fit.
Our Serve360 friends were eager to take on any task, such as patching a hole in a wall …
… painting the kitchen ceiling …
We had a great time Tuesday evening telling the Serve360 folks how Christ works through NOMADS to help others.
On Wednesday morning the team resumed normal operations with members working in two houses. We continued to work at Marie’s home and were pleased to present our first Selma Bible to her on Wednesday afternoon. Bible presentation is always a highlight of the week. There were just a few small items to be completed on Marie’s home – items that couldn’t be completed until the paint was dry. Next week’s team plans to complete those items Monday morning. Since we worked last week on Friday, Wednesday was our last workday and we turned leadership over to Carolyn and Gene and departed Selma on Thursday morning. Please continue to remember the Selma team in your prayers as there is still much work to be done.
While we worked on Ms Marie’s house, other team members installed laminate flooring at a house two block away.
Dave spreading adhesive for the bathroom flooring
The almost finished bathroom
Bible presentation for Ms Marie
NOMADS team picture for this week
We will be back in South Carolina for a few weeks and hope to have some fun adventures to share. Until then, stay safe and always remember to try to make someone’s day a little brighter by showing Christ’s love.
We had to go back to our property in Alabama before going to South Carolina. While there we were blessed with a display of the northern lights.
January 12, 2023 brought 15 tornadoes to the state of Alabama, including one tornado that tracked right through the heart of Selma, with top winds of 130 MPH. Monday, September 30 marked the official start to the NOMADS efforts to assist in the long term recovery of the city of Selma. As team leaders for the beginning of the project we first visited the site in June of 2024 to meet with Bud, the construction coordinator. We returned September 24th to prepare for the arrival of our teams and visit job sites.
Before the team arrived we spent some time helping Bud finish the electrical installation …
… trimming low limbs …
… and a little landscaping.
Friday, our first team members arrived, Carolyn and Gene. Unfortunately, our next couple, Herman and Janis had to cancel to return to their home which had been damaged by Hurricane Helene. On Sunday Bill and Becky arrived after having to delay travel due to the effects of Helene. We were very excited when we received a call that Bob and Leone were joining us Monday afternoon due to their NC project being cancelled. In the mist of all the tragedy caused by Helene, we remind ourselves that places like Selma are now off the TV news and masses of volunteers are no longer arriving. There is still much work to be done in Selma and we are so proud to have NOMADS as part of the long term recovery efforts.
We had to hold one of the low hanging communications cables for some of the RVs to get into the parking.
Monday morning, the team began work on our first house. Tommy’s home suffered wind and water damage and was further damaged and emptied by looters. The first priority was to replace the exterior doors so the house would be secure. While that was being done, the rest of the team then began demo work, removing damaged drywall and paneling and flooring. Then began the repairs to the wall framing and drywall. That continued through Tuesday and Wednesday.
Installing one of the new doors
Preparing to patch a large hole in a ceiling
As usual, when you open up a damaged wall you find more than you planned for.
The team filled up this trailer a few times.
Thursday began a new adventure for our NOMADS team. We began working alongside some employees of Fannie Mae, a government lending agency, that came to Selma to volunteer in the recovery. Fannie Mae encourages their employees to volunteer to serve in communities and allows them some time off to do so. There were about 30 people, most with minimal construction experience, that volunteered to help make a difference for the people of Selma. They came with their own team leaders and our four NOMADS couples became the “expert” advisors. We really were Bud’s (construction coordinator) eyes and ears at each of the five homes where we worked on Thursday and Friday. Team one continued our work at Tommy’s home, continuing the demo work we had begun and began hanging drywall. Team 2 worked at a home that had ceiling and wall drywall work. Team 2 moved to a house needing exterior painting on Friday. The third team worked on windows, and drywall at house 3.
Thursday morning meeting with Fannie Mae volunteers
Team 1’s crew installing ceiling drywall
Team 2’s crew repainting a house
Removing a broken window at house 3
We were at the fourth house both Thursday and Friday. It needed exterior siding to be replaced and bathroom flooring and ceiling repairs. The house next door had burned, and the fire damaged the siding on about half the right side of our house. We had two volunteers that had some experience with siding and after we helped them get started, they moved right along, mostly completing that job by Thursday afternoon. The two ladies working on the floor in the small bathroom seemed to really enjoy learning new skills. They had never used the tools we used to removed three layers of subfloor to repair damage from a leaking toilet. They worked hard on a dirty job and we got most of the subfloor and the toilet reinstalled before the end of the day so our homeowner had a working bathroom. Friday we assisted the team in installing the last of the subfloor, installing a ceiling fan and removing the ceiling tiles and replacing them with drywall. Anne even taught a beginning class on taping and mudding the ceiling.
Our crew taking down the old siding. They finished installing the new siding but we forgot to take a picture of it.
Adding a brace under the toilet
Our crew got enough of the new sub-floor in by Thursday afternoon to reinstall the toilet for the night.
Teaching taping and mudding to one of our Fannie Mae volunteers
It was a very busy week, and yes, we NOMADS worked on Friday. We will be taking an extra day off next week and all the team members were in agreement that it was the right thing to do. It was a great experience for us too. New friends were made, faith discussions took place, and we have two people interested in NOMADS membership. Great way to start our DR in Selma.
We have been attending Church Street Methodist Church which has some beautiful stained glass windows.
These little fellows frequent the edge of the lake where we are parked.
RVing With a Purpose 